Hitting the Wall
by Kenxi
Summary: Wally West has a secret, but he doesn't like to think of it that way. Sure, he feels pain when he runs. It's really not a big deal, and it never has been. Or is it? A combination of comic canon and Young Justice. Some Spitfire. Currently re-writing the ending, but I plan to have it finished before Halloween. Hopefully before studying for finals steals my soul.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So I love the Wally West Flash comics, and I thought the Young Justice show was pretty good, so I decided to write a little something that combined the two a little. In the comics, Wally West had this strange malady that was never really explained, and it kept him from running for a while. Wally left the team in the show, and so I'm using comics to explain why. So part of this is canon, and the rest I just created fictitiously. Hope you enjoy! It takes place a few years after season one, so Wally is around 18.

- **-Kenxi**

Really, the pain wasn't all that bad.

The League knew about it when Wally had signed up for the Young Justice team, including Barry, his mentor. It was more of a discomforting ache, honestly, and it had never affected his ability to accomplish tasks on missions or take out the bad guys.

So they let Kid Flash join the team and continue to help people as much as he could. That was all Wally wanted. Thank goodness for him, the Justice League could see it too, that he could offer something to the world.

See, Wally West was a dreamer. As an even younger kid, he would look up at the stars and see not just a bunch of bright lights, but _possibilities_. There were mysteries to be uncovered, foreign life to find, new ideas for science and medicine.

Sure, his parents were never particularly fond of his questioning and daydreaming—they wanted the best for him, and they didn't exactly feel like _thinking_ out his whole life could get him there. Either way, once the electricity and chemicals hit him, Wally knew that a whole new set of possibilities had been laid out for him. For the first time in his life, Wally wouldn't just be pondering, but he would be _doing_.

It didn't take long for his strange disease to hit.

The dull ache began in his bones and quickly enveloped his entire body whenever he would use his super speed—sometimes he even felt it afterwards. But no doctors had found anything exactly medically wrong with him, so there was little worry.

Every now and again, however, Wally would experience what he referred to as "hitting the wall." The ache would turn into a pretty deep pain which could throw Wally to the ground, keeping him from running for a couple of hours sometimes while he waited the pain out. Even afterwards he would feel exhausted for a while. But hitting the wall was rare, and he could always see it coming often days in advance anyway. Therefore, that really wasn't an issue, and the aches weren't an issue, thus there wasn't a problem with whatever was wrong with him other than annoyance.

So, naturally, Wally never told the rest of the team.

Although Robin knew of it, obviously. Best friend and all. With a side of detective. And an insane certain Batman as a mentor.

Wally planned on telling Artemis soon though since they had been dating a few months now. She'd find out eventually. But his weird, unexplained problem wouldn't affect the team, and so he didn't feel the need to tell everyone. It would just be awkward, purposeless, and would seem more like a cry for attention if anything. And despite the often outward appearance, Wally secretly didn't like attention all that much. Maybe as Kid Flash a bit, but Wally West? Ha! No sir. He thought too much for his mouth to keep up with him most of the time. Which was always weird when a bunch of people were listening as he talked because then he just rambled sometimes or tripped on his words kind of like the way he was thinking right now—

Basically.

Back to the previous subject, it wasn't like he was keeping a secret or anything. To him, it would have felt more like telling everyone his favorite cartoon as a child (which was Tom and Jerry, obviously) and expecting them to care. Pointless. Not to mention embarrassing at the same time.

Because, really, the pain wasn't all that—

Wally couldn't stop the gasp from escaping him as agony hit him so hard and fast—even for a speedster.

" _Barry_!" Wally cried out his uncle's name in reflexive desperation. He was lucky that they were in the middle of a field where no one could hear. His entire body felt like it was burning, pain shooting everywhere so he couldn't pinpoint a single spot to where it was coming from. Almost as if he were being blanketed in the inescapable pain.

He must have tried to stop running on the spot like Barry or something on instinct, because suddenly he was sailing forward through the tall grass, high speed, in the large field he had been racing Barry through. And going around Mach 1 while trying to abruptly stop was just as bad as getting tripped running at the same speed.

Which really sucked at the moment due to the electrifying pain enveloping his body.

He didn't know if Barry heard him or not—wasn't sure just how far ahead of him Barry even was. Wally couldn't really hear or feel anything besides the effects of his problem as he continued to fall forward. All his senses were being numbed while the pain took over entirely.

And then he was no longer in the air, but in his uncle's arms. Wally's vision had dimmed slightly, but he could tell that Barry had probably dropped behind him then caught him while running in the same direction to soften the impact at the high speed. Lucky for him, though, Barry could start and stop easily, and suddenly Wally was laying in an area with shorter, less grass, several miles from where he'd been moments before.

"Wally? Wally! Breathe, kiddo. You're going to be okay, just tough it out. Take it easy."

Wally was trying to obey Barry's desperate commands as his breaths came out in short gasps before lengthening and deepening. Still, even as his senses heightened to normal once more, Wally's body continued to shake from the residual effects of the pain. Pain which had long since stopped.

Slowly, he sat up, trembling, and took the offered bottled water from Barry's hand. Where the man had gotten it, Wally didn't know or care. He guzzled the water in a second, allowing it to clear his mind further.

Barry took the empty bottle, his eyes on Wally while he continued to even out his breathing. "What happened?" He asked, alarm still sharp and raw. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to 'hit the wall' soon? What were you thinking?"

Drained as he was, Wally couldn't even muster the energy to brush any of this off. He doubted he would do so even if he could, however, with as much fear he was feeling right then.

Looking down at his trembling hands, Wally answered, "I d-didn't even feel it c-coming on. Out of nowhere. It felt far w-worse than the usual. I don't know, Barry. I-it was like my skin was on fire." It took a lot of willpower to keep threatening tears from spilling over—he hated the involuntary stutter in his voice. Wally couldn't remember the last time he'd experienced fear like this. Fighting villains was safe compared to the idea of not being able to do so.

He looked at his uncle then, noting his reflected distress in Barry's eyes. Wally couldn't recall ever seeing Barry look so…breakable.

"I think we should take you to Jay again, Wally. Or another JLA doctor. Someone." Wally started to say something, maybe to protest or concede, he didn't know, but Barry continued. "I can't watch you go through this. We both know you're sort of an experiment yourself—being the first kid with the Speed and all. Your powers are slightly different than mine, and this…." Barry looked away from Wally quickly, biting his lip. "This isn't right. We've ignored whatever it is because no one could find a problem, but I think we need to look again. Clearly it's getting worse if you didn't even see it coming today. And I can't stand to see you get hurt."

Wally, on the other hand, never took his eyes from Barry's face. "Yeah, Uncle Barry. Of course we'll go."

A beeping came in Wally's ear just then, and he quickly pressed his comm to answer the call. "Yello?"

"Fleet Feet! Hey, we have a mission ready, come join the team for debrief in fifteen minutes, okay?"

"What would everyone do without me? I'll be there."

And without a goodbye, Robin hung up.

At the expression on Barry's face, Wally sighed. "Looks like I gotta run in a few. Literally." Despite his nonchalance about it to Flash, Wally felt uneasy in his stomach at the thought of having another episode like this during a mission. It wasn't the first time anything like this had happened, but the idea of going on a mission made him nervous. What if he messed up everything because of a little pain from running? What if they failed because of him?

Barry frowned and put his hand on Wally's shoulder. "You're in no condition to be running. Usually you sleep for hours after this."

Swiping a hand through his hair, he replied, "I know. But if it is anything too dangerous I'll just drop out of it. Really. I wouldn't want to endanger the team. Besides, we can stock up on food right before I leave, right?" Even though he felt weak, Wally grinned at Barry, hoping he'd buy it. And at the same time, hoping he didn't.

"As soon as you're done, let me know." He bought it. Wally wasn't sure if he was relieved or scared out of his wits. "Then we will go see someone about what happened today."

"Sure thing, Uncle B."

Satisfied, Barry lit up once more to his fun-loving self. "We got time for the cream cheese croissants, right?"

Wally smiled back, allowing himself to forget about any of his present problems, and just enjoy the moment.

For however long it lasted.

 **A/N:** This is pre-written, so I will release updates weekly, never fear! Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So I got a four-day migraine a few days after I posted this so I couldn't do much, and then I just plain forgot when I got busy with work and other writings. You probably know how that is. Sorry! But here ya go. Enjoy.

Post Script: Mach 1 is 741.77 MPH, and the speed of sound is 767.7 MPH.

- **-Kenxi**

They had gone just under the speed of sound, about Mach 1, on the way to Mount Justice.

In other words, they had gone _really slow_. Well, slow for a trip across the world anyway.

For half of the run, Barry had carried Wally since the after effects were still gnawing at him. And when Wally did convince him that he could run himself, despite his best efforts, and the dropped speed to about 300 MPH, Wally felt pain slowly increase the longer he ran. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't exactly a snow day either.

He didn't say anything to Flash as they sped over the earth like kings. He was worried enough as it was, disregard for his continued playfulness. What could he say, really? If they were already going to a doctor afterwards, there was no point, Wally reasoned on the way. But he couldn't help but feel like whatever this was, it was going to hurt his superhero career. His ability to save people.

And that was what really scared him.

Wally had always grown up with his head a bit in the clouds, his mind buried under "what if's." Not exactly what his parents wanted for him. They preferred the idea of Wally having a solid life under him, but Wally liked to dream.

Now he had gotten to live his dream of sorts. Working with The Flash, being a flipping superhero himself. Wally felt insecure about a lot of things, especially when it came to his personal life—he didn't want to fail anyone, especially his parents. This life, though, gave him satisfaction to know that he, Wally West, could make a difference. Be somebody who was worth something. Help people.

When he really thought about it, he wondered who he would be if he didn't have his special abilities. Would he be anyone at all?

"Guess we're here, then."

Wally jumped a little, not even realizing that they had stopped running. That he had stopped running. Really, his head still was in the clouds like when he was a kid. Perhaps Wally never really grew up after all.

Flash smiled that worried, parenting smile of his down at Wally and ruffled his wind-crazed red hair. "Remember to not push yourself too hard. I'll meet you here when you guys finish saving the world."

"Bye, Uncle Barry," Wally said fondly, though pushing his uncle's hand away from his hair.

Barry winked at Wally and took off in a flash.

Pun intended.

00000

 _Recognized: Kid Flash, B-0-3_

"Look who decided to show up."

Artemis walked toward Wally with a brilliant smile on her face. Wally stared in awe at the beautiful creature before him. Then Artemis stopped several feet away from him, putting her hands on her hips. "You gonna make me go the whole way, Kid Slow?"

Shocked out of his stupor, Wally full-on grinned, forgetting the whole problem with his speed. He blurred over to where she was and immediately tried to suppress the flinch his body responded with the light pain which flared within him. This much pain wasn't normal, he knew, but Wally covered his reaction with a kiss, cupping her face softly in his hands. Her relaxation into the kiss was quick and without hesitation. That meant something with Artemis, given her background. It just made Wally kiss her more fiercely with everything they'd gone through together. What they were still going through, Wally thought as he remembered soberly the pain he'd been enduring of late.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the world is kind of due for another saving. Whenever you're ready, though."

Robin's sarcastic voice broke through the intense kiss, and the two finally cut the contact between their lips. That between their hands, however, remained.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Wally said genuinely—a rare tone for him around the team.

Artemis smiled softly as she looked into his eyes, before frowning. "You look really pale, Wally. Are you alright?"

Wally blinked in surprise. "The term 'Caucasian' is more generally accepted, but I suppose 'pale' works for most red-heads with our proneness to sunburns."

"Wally—"

"Just hungry. Long run. No need to worry," Wally soothed easily. The only reason he said anything at all was because Artemis could usually see through all his jokes, making it hard to skirt around actual problems with her. He found that out really quickly. Anyway, it wasn't a total lie; he was hungry. But he would be lying if he said that the recent problems in his system weren't taking their own toll. Wally felt exhausted and drained just thinking about running. Something that never happened unless he was super low on sustenance.

"Come on," he tugged her arm toward the waiting teammates with him. "Rob's right. We gotta save the world again." The smile returned, her eyes full of trust as she let him lead her forward.

Wally was mildly surprised to find that only the original team awaited them in front of the holographic screen. Aqualad, M'gann, Connor, and Robin stood mission ready, looking perhaps a bit impatient.

"Alright, I get it, Rob," Wally placated at the exasperation on his friend's face. "We're here now. So what sociopath is trying to take down the world today? And do you think they're ever going to consider paychecks for us?"

00000

Despite Wally's hopes for a simple mission, it turned out the Cadmus files had been opened again. Well, one in particular. It was called Operation Mockingbird, and apparently it was currently being used in the middle of the desert someplace.

Kaldur explained that the Operation appeared as a machine and was taking inventory and any knowledge it could of the earth before it destroyed the whole world. No one knew who exactly initiated it, but if the team couldn't find a way to shut it down in less than an hour then they'd all be toast. Catch? It couldn't exactly be destroyed. If they went in guns blazing, it would just send off a radiation that would kill everyone on the planet. So just a typical day for the teenagers. No biggie.

And where was the league for this? According to Robin, Batman was calling them in about something else, but he didn't say what. Also typical.

Wally was just hoping that he somehow managed to survive this and avoid messing up the whole thing.

So, naturally, he went to his best friend.

Everyone was loading up quickly on the ship as Wally called out, "Hey, Rob! Help me with something real quick?" Robin turned with a questioning look, but then he saw the expression in Wally's eyes.

Kaldur saw it too. "Two minutes, Robin and KF." With that he left them alone as everyone entered the Bio Ship.

Robin walked over to Wally, his eyes sensitive and cautious behind the mask. "What's up, dude?"

Wally took a breath, knowing he had to get this over with quickly. Time was running short. "Don't be alarmed, but I hit the wall today."

Eyebrows shot up, body tensed. "Dang. I'm surprised you're even walking right now. So you want me to make up an excuse to Kaldur?"

He hesitated. Before, he had told Flash that he wouldn't go if it was dangerous, but now that he was here, it seemed only right that he try and help. "No, I want to go." Another surprised look. "Right now, if I go too fast or run too long, it feels like my nerves are getting shot." A mix of emotions crossed Robin's face, but before he could respond, Wally continued, his voice as void of emotion as he could make it. "So just try not to let Kaldur send me to do anything important requiring full-functioning speed, because I'm not sure I can deliver. That's it, let's go." And he pivoted on his feet, leaving Rob gaping at him with surprise.

"Wait! Wally!" Robin jumped in front of him. "How fast is too fast?" Although Dick knew about the pain, he didn't really understand it well. Not that anyone did, exactly.

Wally bit his lip. "It gets difficult to run after about 300 MPH." Robin made a small noise, "—but I can manage around 400 MPH before the pain starts getting too bad."

Robin swallowed slowly. "Wally, that's, like, half of Mach 1."

"Yeah, but I'm fine to go over it." Wally looked away at that point, knowing there was not a great chance of him following through with that statement. "But even after just 100 MPH I shake because it hurts so much. Like my own body physically can't handle the speeds or something. I don't know. Barry and I are going to see another doctor as soon as this is over. I swear. Just give me today."

The wheels turning in his best friend's head were almost making audible sound. But even before Wally told him, he knew that Robin would be forced to agree and keep this a secret. The knowledge could become a liability during the mission among teammates.

"Okay, fine. But don't do anything you can't." It was Dick Grayson's eyes Wally could see pleading behind the mask.

At that, Wally winked at him with a grin. "Technically if you can't do something, then you won't, Rob. Because you are literally unable to do it. Sheesh. And you call yourself smart, Boy Blunder."

Robin just scoffed good naturedly and punched Kid Flash in the arm. "Doofus,"

"Hey, you're the one with the name 'Dick'."

And the two entered the Bio Ship, bickering, pretending for the moment that nothing was wrong.

 **A/N:** Now, Wally West could go really fast after Barry Allen died in the comics, like over Mach 10, but I don't recall it being mentioned how fast he went normally as Kid Flash. Hope it isn't too out there of a guess. I'll update this Sunday for sure. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yeah, I just updated! *Does a happy dance, then realizes no one cares—stops.*

And about the mysterious illness that Wally West had in the comics, it occurred pretty early on since they noticed it as he was growing. Barry Allen had been fully grown when he received his powers, so as Wally aged it affected him in a negative way for some reason. The more he used his speed, the faster it killed him. (faster, get it? Cause he's fast…yeah I need to stop now)

- **-Kenxi**

"The machine has to be powered by something," Kaldur had said on the Bio Ship before. We need to find what is powering it and stop the Operation before it's too late.

Yeah, Wally thought as he dodged another crazed robot guy. Simple.

They had found the underground power source alright. Between the big tunnel under the sand and the great whirring noise in it, finding the second machine hadn't been too difficult.

Basically it was like a giant, horizontal fan. About the width of a pretty nice boat, it spun counter clockwise so blurry fast, it would make a speedster jealous. In the center of it rose a large column that went straight up into the sand ceiling, likely connecting to the main piece on the surface which threatened to destroy the world. This was just feeding power to the thing. As the teens had stared at the strange, sideways fan, Wally knew that they had all realized they had no idea how to shut it down, no telepathy needed.

And then the robots attacked out of nowhere, which was funny because that's where they were. In the middle of nowhere in the desert, underground. Wally never knew he'd reach this level of strange and slightly awkward. But alas, the day had come.

Wally was hardly using any speed at all to fight the robots. Their attacks were sloppy and too harsh, making aversion easy for any on the team. Still, the attacks kept coming, giving no room to really forge a plan or get close to the power source. And, even though he was not using any of his speed, Wally could feel anxiety bubbling up inside him anyway for when he would have to. Because sooner or later, he would need to run.

 _Really_ run.

 _I think we just need to stop the machine from spinning. Maybe throw something at it?_ Robin spoke in their minds through the link.

Sigh. I _figured that one out, Sherlock. Sadly, the only thing that's pretty rock solid here is Superboy. And it would likely throw him, not stop it, or it could set it off and kill everyone,_ Wally thought loudly for all.

 _If we don't do something in twenty-four minutes, we're all_ _going to die anyway._

Silence. Wally looked to see Superboy angrily busting the heads of the robots. Robin was throwing all sorts of gadgets and doing some crazy ninja-circus flips to defeat ones around him. Using his water-bearers, Kaldur threw a whole bunch into a wall before more robots took their places. In the desert his power with the water lacked; he'd need to get back soon if he was going to survive this fight in the heat—even if they were under the surface. Artemis was yelling and sending arrows every which way. Wally himself was just using his combat skills to take the robots out, no speed needed, really. Seriously, where were these guys materializing from?

Then there was Miss Martian. Using her telekinesis to crush bodies while turning invisible every once and again to take some more out. This whole mission was a mess. Once more, Wally took pause from his own fighting and watched M'gann simply close her fist and crunch the robot's entire body together. Idea.

 _Miss Martian, can't you just use your mind to destroy this machine? Or even the real threat up top?_ Wally asked in his thoughts.

She glanced at him from across the room/creepy underground place and then looked away again quickly. _I tried that before_ , she thought sadly. _Something bigger than a machine is involved here, though. My mind is blocked from it, like there is a barrier surrounding it_.

Wally felt his heart quicken with a touch of fear. He was going to have to do something. He could feel it, and if he looked for the way he could win this fight, Wally knew he'd find it. But did he really want to? Could this destroy him forever?

Okay, maybe that didn't exactly make any sense, but it didn't seem to matter to his frantically beating heart.

 _I do not understand why you are so afraid, Kid Flash, but I believe you have a point_ , Kaldur's voice came to Wally's mind. Oh crap. He'd projected his thoughts. _Perhaps if you were to run faster than the machine in the opposite direction you could stop it. Or slow it enough for Superboy to do so._

Wally took down the metallic robot in front of him with one punch, sidestepping another behind it and kicking it hard in the torso. Kaldur was right, he knew, but doing this would require some incredible speed. Could Wally even deliver it? What if he broke down like before? What if, because of him, the world was destroyed? Then would it even matter if Wally had tried to save it? Would it matter if he did stop it in the end, no matter the cost? Or would he just become another memory, hidden by the present and future?

 _Wally?_ Artemis said softly in his head. _Wally, what's wrong?_

Crap. Did they hear all those thoughts?

 _Afraid so, Wall-man_ , Robin said.

Stress causes thoughts to project in case of danger, sorry, Miss Martian added in an embarrassed tone.

Wally breathed in deeply in an attempt to slow his breathing and anxiety. He really did think too much. Thinking which the team could still hear. Ugh. Was there a way to think without everyone hearing it?

 _You could not do anything and wait to die, then no one would hear a thing._ Wally wasn't sure who thought that bit.

 _Alright,_ Wally thought to everyone, _I'm going to try it. Not the dying thing, the running thing. Hopefully we don't die._

So much for nothing dangerous.

Wally sped towards the great machine and did not hesitate to begin running around it in the opposite direction. He was using his speed for really the first time this mission, and already the burn of pain was weighing on him. The exhaustion that had been there a while now came ten-fold, and Wally thought for a second he was going to collapse.

Miss Martian's voice was suddenly in his head. _Wally?_

But he couldn't answer her. It was all he could do to just run and not black out. In the back of his mind, he could tell, however, that the speed he was running at was not nearly enough. So he began to push himself more towards 200 MPH, when a rush of pain whelmed him, and his legs faltered.

Once more, the alien's voice entered his thoughts. _You can do it, Wally. I can feel how much pain you're in right now, but don't focus on that. Focus on running. Focus on saving people._

Saving people.

That was what he was here for. He wanted to save people. It didn't make sense to him that he would get these powers only to be punished by them, but that wasn't what he needed to focus on right then. He needed to go faster.

So he did.

It's amazing just how much more pain one can withstand. Wally had never felt anything like it. But around and around he went, against the current of the doomsday machine. Even as he felt as though he were being electrocuted, (he'd been there before) he could also sense distantly that the spinning of the machine was slowing down. So he ran faster.

Now he was almost to Mach 1, and any second he could feel that is body was going to betray him. He recalled what he had told Robin earlier, about how it seemed his body wasn't physically capable of handling the speed. Perhaps this was what was going to kill him.

Everything was already feeling detached from him, but now he could feel his body going numb as his vision darkened. The pain wasn't so much whelming now as it was overwhelming. He didn't know how fast he was going anymore or how long he'd been running. All he knew was that he was dying. He could feel that much.

 _Artemis,_ he thought directly to her, _I love you._

And before he could hear any sort of reply, his body shut down completely, and he went tumbling into the air. For once, he felt no pain.

 **A/N:** Hope that wasn't too lame for ya'll! Now I have an important question. Who do you guys like better, **Barry or Wally**? Can be comic based or tv show based cause The Flash show is awesome.:D But be nice about it since everyone is entitled to their opinions of course. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry, this one is both super short and late. But I actually like this chapter. Now you find out who my favorite character from DC really is. Especially this character's own comic series. So good. Enjoy!

- **Kenxi**

For once, Robin let his emotions in. He felt the pain of them as Wally suddenly was no longer running and instead falling forward. Superboy caught him, and Robin was there immediately. He'd had a pit in his stomach all day, and now he knew why. Wally.

Everything had stopped. KF had been running far past the sound barrier, maybe even Mach 2. The machine had stopped spinning completely, and the zombie machine guys all collapsed conveniently, Phantom Menace style. It all would have been epic, if not for Wally lying so still on the ground.

Scratch that. Wally was _not_ still. He was shaking almost as if he were having a seizure. Robin wasn't sure if that was better or worse than not moving at all.

He wrapped his arms around his best friend, pulling him onto his lap, even though he knew you technically weren't supposed to do that when someone was seizing. There was commotion still going on all around him, and for the first time in a long time, Dick couldn't think about the mission, or saving the world.

Everyone had felt Wally's thoughts as he ran. Not all of them were distinct, but it was very clear that he was expecting to die and was okay with that. And it scared Dick to death. If Wally wasn't fighting to live….

Dick felt for Wally's pulse, and while he was glad that there was one, he wasn't so sure how good it was that the ticker was beating like a hummingbird's wings. Was that too fast? That was definitely too fast, right?

A hand was on his shoulder, and, looking at it, he could see that it was Artemis's. But he couldn't bring himself to look at her. Because he was the reason after all that KF had come here in the first place. It was his fault that he let him join the team even though they both knew full well that he might have to run. Even though they both knew he physically couldn't take the exertion of it. And now this. Robin didn't even know what was wrong.

Wally seemed to be somewhat conscious as his eyes were halfway open. But he didn't say anything—or couldn't—and the shaking continued. He was shaking so badly. Was he in pain? He sure had been while running. Everyone could feel his agony as they continued warding off other threats. It wasn't right that Wally West, normally cracking jokes and grinning crazily, was lying here, trembling like a leaf. A tased leaf. All because he was selfless enough to sacrifice himself and thus save the world.

Sure, that's what they were trained to do, but there was something so wrong about it to Robin. This all felt so _wrong_.

"Robin," Artemis said softly. He looked up at her, realizing that tears were streaming from his cheeks. Why he was crying, Dick didn't know. It wasn't like KF was dead or anything. It was fine. He was fine. Everything was fine.

And yet it wasn't, somehow. But Artemis stood next to him, pain on her face but no tears. She was calm—not breaking in two like Dick was. This was familiar he realized. And as he glanced at her somewhat pitying and pained expression, he recalled why.

He was feeling the way he did when his parents died. To this day he remembered watching them fall, knowing that they were going to die, but not yet ready to accept it. He cried then, and he was crying now. Batman would have a hay-day seeing him fall apart like this. Or…maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he would look him in the eye now like he did then and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

Kaldur was suddenly there, too, and Megan and Superboy. They all stood around, eyes flickering between Dick and Wally. Everyone so freakishly calm. Megan nodded at Superboy who then bent down to pick up Wally, who still shook. Dick tensed, but let him, noting how Superboy approached him like a frightened animal.

"He's not going to die," Robin blurted. They all jerked their heads in his direction, confused. Bewildered. "It's my fault he came with us. I knew he wasn't 100%, and I let him come anyway."

Megan looked at the others, and Dick figured she was telling them all mentally to go back to the ship because then it was just her and Dick.

"I knew as well," she said softly, kneeling next to him. He still sat on the dirt, no energy to move. But still he found strength to lift his head and look at her. "I could sense that something was wrong, but I chose not to say anything because I knew how important this mission was. If it's your fault, then it's mine too." Dick stopped the stream of tears coming from his eyes. Almost as if he'd had control the whole time.

"Maybe it's neither of our faults and just the stupid universe's."

She cracked a smile at him, stood, and offered a hand to pull him up. He watched it for a moment, and then, when he was ready, Robin pulled himself up with help.

"I think his body is in shock right now, but he should be okay," Megan offered.

Robin took it with a small smile. "Yeah, he'll be just fine." But, next to the rock in his heart from when he lost his parents, a new one sat in it, a crushing weight, and he knew that Wally wouldn't be "just fine." Still, it was nice to pretend for a little while.

 **A/N:** Wally will be in the next chapter on Sunday! So yeah, Dick Grayson has been my favorite character for years. Really close to Wally. The Nightwing and Grayson comics are spectacular! Let me know in the comments if you love Dick and who you think the best Robin is. Jason Todd was certainly an interesting villain for sure. :D

- **Kenxi**


	5. Why We Fall

**A/N** : My name should really just be Excuses101 cause I'm full of them. The internet doesn't work most of the time in my apartment apparently (so mostly I go to the library for free wifi) but hopefully I can update the last chapter next week which will be the epilogue to the story. Thanks everyone!

- **Kenxi**

 _Batman: Why do we fall, Dick? We fall so we can learn to get back up._

 _Dick Grayson: No, that's not true. We fall because someone_ pushes _us. We get up to_ push back _._

 _-Nightwing Vol. 3 #30_

00000

"It makes sense that we missed it before, but there is no doubt now." Jay Garrick sat in a chair next to Wally's bedside. Carefully, Jay put a hand on Wally's leg as a sign of comfort. "Your speed is killing you." The least comforting thing he could have said.

For some reason, through all the scenarios that Wally had gone through in his head, this wasn't what he thought was Jay would say. Weird, because it was the only thing that made sense. He himself thought he was dying whenever the pain struck, yet the words still shocked him. So he just stared, waiting for Jay to continue.

Hesitantly, he did. "Your body is deteriorating. I don't understand how exactly yet, but I'll look into it. Perhaps there could be a way to stop the effects. Until then…." He shook his head sadly at the younger speedster. "I'm sorry, Wally, but your hero career is over. You need to stop running or you'll end up killing yourself."

Wally wiped a hand over his face. Maybe he was in shock of it all, but he couldn't process the idea of not running. Ever. It wasn't that he couldn't, exactly, but that doing so would kill him.

Jay left him to be alone, apologizing once more for something he had no power over. What would this mean for Wally? Would he and Artemis fall apart when he left the team? Sure, he could still run, but who knew when the pain would be too much? He would just be a liability to himself, the team, and the world.

He was lucky that he had been able to run before at all.

In fact, Jay told him that he shouldn't be able to physically go past Mach 1 without blacking out from pain, but he was going at least Mach 2 before to stop the Mockingjay Op. A speed Wally had only reached once before. Perhaps sheer will was its own superpower.

The door cracked open, and Artemis walked in. Her steps were even, her smile easy, as if Wally wasn't losing everything he'd ever dreamed of. "Hey," she said.

Wally smiled back. "Hey."

She came and lay next to him on the bed in the Med Bay. Hers had been the first face he'd seen when he woke up. He only had time to ask about what had happened and how everyone else was before she was taken outside so they could run every test known to superheroes on Wally.

Now, finally alone, she drew circles over his arm with her finger and said, "It's nice to see you awake, and, you know, not dead."

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "It's nice to not be dead. Even though I am, you know, dying."

Her finger froze on his bicep immediately, and Wally knew he'd killed the playful conversation. Artemis gave him a hard look. "You're not dying right now. As long as you use your speed, you're fine." Jay must have told her. Her eyes got sad for a moment and she asked softly, "What about a cure?"

Wally shrugged. "Possibly, but he didn't seem too hopeful."

"Alright," she said firmly. He'd seen that look in her green eyes before. "That's what we're gonna do, then."

Now he was confused. "We're gonna what now?"

"Me and you," she continued her tracing again. "We are going to live normal lives where we don't have to be superheroes. We are going to live."

Wally couldn't believe he was hearing this. His brain hardly registered the fact that she should have said "you and I" rather than "me and you." She wanted out? No, she was willing to give up all of this, being a hero, to be with him?

"No," she said. "I am not doing this for you, I'm doing it for me. I want to live a normal life. And I want to live it with you. I want you in that normal life."

His eyes were unexpectedly wet.

Artemis playfully punched his shoulder. "Don't get all sappy on me now, Wallace. I'm not sure our apartment could handle that much emotion."

Now he was just stunned.

She just laughed. "Yes, I would love to live in an apartment with you when we go to school. So glad you approve."

Somehow, he found his voice. "Look, Artemis, are you sure that this is what you want? Do you realize what you are giving up?"

Just like that, her eyes turned serious, and she touched his jaw gently, pulling his head toward hers. "You are the only thing that I would never give up." And then she pressed her lips against his fiercely, and they melted against each other. Man, he loved her.

"Ahem."

The two broke apart instantly to look at the new face. Robin.

Jay had told him about how Robin had had some sort of breakdown after Wally crashed and burned, according to the others. Apparently he had scared him a lot.

Seeing him now made him a little nervous. Wally knew that Dick was tough—tougher than maybe anyone on the team—but he was afraid of losing people. It probably didn't help that Dick was the one person on the team whom Wally had told about his problem. That had to have added a weight.

Artemis pulled away from Wally slowly, giving him an apologetic expression. "I'll let you two talk."

Once she was no longer in the room, Robin adjusted the sun glasses on his face and, after a moment of hesitation, removed them, placing them on the small table next to Wally's bed. Wally raised his eyes, sitting up a little more, but said nothing.

Dick's sharp blue eyes were hard as though he were angry, but the tears in them said otherwise. Wally sighed, "Look, I—"

"Don't," Dick said. Based on the way the words came out, Wally wondered if he had been wrong thinking that Dick wasn't angry. He continued, "That's not fair, what you did. It's not. You can't just—"

Now Wally cut him off. "I can't what? Save the world? Risk myself? It's what we do, Robin, or did you forget that?" His words came out harsher than he meant, and he took a slow breath, smoothing out the sheets like he was trying with his words. "A lot of things aren't fair, but we keep going anyway."

At first, Dick didn't reply. He just stood there, staring at Wally. His eyes still looked so upset, but they were vulnerable too. Wally's head was still feeling fuzzy—whether it was from his "disease" or the shock of everything they'd found out, he didn't know. But it did keep him from figuring out why Dick was so mad at him. It didn't make sense. Then, finally, his friend fell back into the chair near Wally's bed, looking somewhat deflated.

"I never told anyone this before, but the night my parents died, that whole day I felt this sort of weight on my chest. Like something bad might happen. But we were so excited. The performance was going to be perfect because we had practiced perfectly." Seeing Dick's eyes like this, open and without protection against others, it was tragic. Strange word to use, but that's how Wally was seeing his friend right then. As a tragedy.

Dick wiped a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes like he was now just trying to shield them with his hands instead of a mask. "When they…fell, I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. But even years later I wonder what would have happened if I'd just told them to not perform tonight because I had a few butterflies about it. A nervous feeling." He looked up then, staring Wally in the eye—a rare occurrence. "I had that feeling today, about you."

Oh.

Well that made sense. So Dick felt guilty about not acting on a feeling he had from both the past and present, blaming himself.

Before Wally could apologize for worrying him or say anything to make him feel better—because, really, there was no reason for Dick to feel bad—the ninja said, "I watched your strength give out and then watched you writhe in agony. I was so afraid that you had died, and then that you were going to die anyway. I'm still afraid." The last part came out in a whisper.

It was getting a little dramatic for the Wall-man, but he catered to his friend's emotional needs, answering, "Well you don't have to worry about me anymore, dude. I'm not supposed to run anymore anyway. Gotta quit the team." The words felt foreign in his mouth, like he still couldn't believe what he was saying. Maybe this was just a dream and he would wake up soon with everything the way it should be.

Hey, a guy can dream.

Pun intended.

And just like that, all the anger washed away from Dick's face, and he offered a weak smile. "I heard. Sucks, dude."

Suddenly, Wally felt himself grinning. A real smile, too. The first one in a while. He pushed himself up, aware of his sore muscles. "You know what? It does suck. But I still have you as my best friend, the Flash as my uncle." Wally got a dreamy expression. "I still got the girl."

"Alright, alright, don't rub in, loser."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Things felt normal for a while, until Dick broke the quiet. "Hey, uh, Wally. Jay was saying that he didn't know if your problem will affect you whether you use your powers or not. What if…."

"What if I die too young anyway?" Wally smiled lazily, even if the thought was scary. "At least I will have lived it the best way I know. Even if I can't be a superhero anymore, I'm still gonna help people. And I think that's what really matters, you know?"

Dick fiddled with the "R" on his uniform, tracing it. Wally recalled how that was the name they had called Dick sometimes, Robin. He wondered if that's what Dick was thinking about now. How even though his parents hadn't been superheroes saving the day, they had still changed his life. Dick glanced back up at Wally, his eyes bright. "Yeah, I know.

 **A/N** : The epilogue for next week is going to be short but epic, so stay tuned. It may not be on a Sunday, depending on when I can get wifi. If anyone was interested in me writing **another chapter before the epilogue** , PM me or leave a comment with an idea, cause I just thought I'd end it here otherwise. Thanks everyone!

Who's glad that they are using the original KF suit for season three of The Flash? I am ridiculously excited. Just saying.

- **Kenxi**


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